In an unknown place…
Akari opened her eyes, finding herself in a dark and empty space. She sat up, feeling the cold winds on her skin.
"Hello?"
She got to her feet, looking around for any clues. Her entire forearm began to glow with bright energy, and she walked forward, trying to gauge her surroundings.
"Where is this place?" she thought. "Were the others sent here?"
As she walked further, she saw flashing purple lights all around her, which made her uneasy.
"Hikari? Dachii? You guys here?"
The eerie silence continued, and soon, the entire landscape around Akari began to shift, twisting and turning until what appeared to be a castle emerged in front of her.
"Very suspicious…" Akari noted. "Is that where I'm supposed to enter?"
She crept up to the door and tipped it open, making sure no one was behind it. Once she was sure, she stepped inside, noticing a long hallway leading to another door at the end.
She pressed forward, hearing whispers in the hall.
"MONSTER…"
"MURDERER…"
"DEMON…"
She closed her eyes and ignored the voices, finally reaching the door.
"Okay, whatever's behind here, it's nothing…" she assured herself.
She took a deep breath and pushed open the door, but what greeted her back nearly gave her a heart attack.
"WHAT—-?"
A pair of glowing purple eyes greeted her, studying her with a cold gaze.
"Akari…"
Akari stepped back, noticing Aoki, who was unconscious at his feet.
"Who are you? How do you know my name? And what have you done to that girl?"
The man of darkness straightened up, eyes narrowing. "She failed…to answer my questions…"
And in less than a second, he appeared in front of Akari, his massive frame towering over her. "Maybe you will prove more…helpful."
Before she could open her mouth, he grabbed her by her arm, lifting her to his face.
"Where…is Deity…?"
She tried to break free, but his hold was far too strong.
"Deity? I don't know what you're talking about!"
The man gave her a piercing look, his eyes giving off cold fury. "Really…? Then…who is Dachii?"
"What does he have to do with any of this?"
Despite her outward demeanor, the man could sense the fear in her heart.
"You…know…something…"
He leaned in close to her. "Now tell me."
Akari tried to keep her mouth shut, but the overwhelming aura of the man began to make her sweat.
"Who is he?" she thought. "Is he a Zharian? But he's not like any of the ones I've seen! Why is he so tall? So dark? So SCARY?"
The man lifted a hand, which began to glow with green energy. "Hmph."
But as he prepared to fire off an attack, a giant portal opened in the middle of the room, showing Raijin Arena…
…and the battle taking place.
"Ahh…Ionix," the man said, a relieved tone in his voice. "Nicely done."
Akari's eyes widened at the sight, and the man tossed her aside and started to shake violently.
"You'll die soon, girl," the man declared, his tone low and cold. "All of you will."
And then he disappeared in a puff of black smoke, but not before unleashing a powerful wave of purple flames at Akari, which she narrowly avoided.
Once the man was gone, she immediately turned her attention to the portal. "Don't worry, guys, I'm coming—-!"
But it closed, leaving her trapped in the darkness. "Damn it!"
Just then, Aoki lifted her head, noticing what was going on. "What…? Akari?"
She sat up as Akari walked up to her.
"What happened to you?" Akari asked.
"Don't worry about that," Aoki replied. "My sword…where is my sword?"
Aoki noticed her broken katana on the ground, and she immediately scooped it up, pure rage in her eyes.
After a few minutes, Akari tapped her on the shoulder. "Look, do you know a way out of this place? My friends are in trouble, and we don't have time to stay here—"
"You can find it yourself. I didn't ask you to come save me!"
"Woah, I didn't come to save you!" Akari snapped back. "I came here looking for THEM!"
"Wow, great job! So where are they?" Aoki asked, sarcastically.
Akari's eyes began to glow. "You know what, I'm not about to sit here and take this stupid crap —-!"
BOOM.
The entire castle started to explode into pieces, and Akari quickly had to grab Aoki and put up a forcefield before the entire thing collapsed.
Once the damage was done, Akari dropped her forcefield.
"Self-detonation?" Akari wondered. "Did he leave a trap for us?"
Aoki stepped away from Akari, still staring at her broken katana. "It doesn't matter. We're stuck in this hellhole, and my damn sword is broken. I'm going to kill someone."
"Speaking of which," Akari remarked. "Who was that guy in there?"
Aoki nervously shifted a little. "He's…just their leader. That's all."
"JUST their leader? Did you see him? He had you in a puddle of BLOOD."
Aoki gave Akari a death stare.
"That's NOT what that was."
"Yeah, sure it wasn't. Now enough of this, we need to find a way out of here."
Aoki sheathed what was left of her blade. "I will find a way out of here. You stay out of my way and don't mess anything up."
She walked off into the distance, making Akari growl.
"I hate this girl."
She looked back at the ruined castle for a moment.
"Don't get killed guys, we're on our way."
And then she followed after Aoki.
Meanwhile, inside Raijin Arena…
"YOU WANT TO LEAVE THIS PLACE?" Ionix shouted. "YOU WANT YOUR BROTHER? Well then, you have only one task to complete. TAKE ME DOWN!"
Ionix, along with Venire, watched Squad S-2 from the hovering platform. "MAKE YOUR MOVE!"
"What's the plan, General?" Kanai asked.
Himeka giggled and held up her boomerang. "You heard him! Let's ATTACK!"
Without a second to waste, she launched her Gigarang at him, but he watched it and laughed.
"Idiot."
And right after, a portal opened, and Sir Triune fell out, catching the boomerang.
"You thought it would be so easy?" Ionix boasted. "You thought this would be fun and games? NO. This is the final round, and we don't PULL OUR PUNCHES!"
More portals opened around Squad S-2, dropping out dozens of Zharians. As they fell out, the platform containing Ionix and Venire rose higher.
"Now, Sir Triune, show them what an army can do."
Sir Triune cracked his neck. "I'll be happy to."
As the horde of Zharians collected next to him, he pointed his finger at Squad S-2.
"ATTACK!"
The army of Zharians rushed them, making Dachii jump back.
"They're coming! Don't you guys have guns?"
"They've been confiscated!" Kanai stated. "Looks like magic will have to do!"
The Zharians ran at the squad, drawing their weapons and engaging the soldiers in combat. Sir Triune walked behind them, focusing his attention on Dachii.
"About time. I've been WAITING for this rematch!"
He swung at Dachii, who managed to slide under his attack.
"Where's that woman from the island? She too chicken to show her face?"
Dachii tried to punch him in the chest, but all it did was force him back a few feet.
"What a shame," Sir Triune remarked. "I was looking to BREAK HER DAMN NECK."
He launched another punch at Dachii, but Hikari intercepted it, pushing his fist back.
"Who the hell are you?" Sir Triune demanded.
"Doesn't matter!" Hikari shouted back. "Get back! Don't make me have to use these!"
She put her fists up, making Sir Triune laugh. "Scrawny little girl…step aside, before I HURT YOU."
Hikari ignored his words, punching him in the face so hard it drew blood, before turning to Dachii.
"Dachii, are you alright?"
He dusted off his clothes. "Yeah, thanks for the help—-"
Behind them, Sir Triune spit out some blood before beginning to laugh.
"Hahaha! That's what I LOVE."
He brought his fists down, forcing Dachii and Hikari to roll out of the way. Hikari tried to touch him, but he easily batted her hand away and backhanded her.
"SHOW ME SOMETHING GOOD!"
Dachii went to help her up, and she groaned.
"I'm so useless in combat! I hate this power!"
"But you can heal stuff!" Dachii noted. "Isn't that something?"
"No! Look at them!"
She pointed to Kazue, Tetsuya, and Tsugumi, each of whom was using their magic to fend off Zharian soldiers.
"This isn't enough!" Hikari exclaimed. "I can't be a liability! It's just so…WATCH OUT!"
Sir Triune tried to slam his fist into the pair, but Dachii summoned a gauntlet and used it to block the strike.
"Look at you!" Hikari pointed out. "You have a weapon! What do I have?"
"Well…" Dachii scratched his head. "You…make a good doctor?"
"UGH!"
Sir Triune crackled his knuckles. "Enough of the chit-chat! Get them!"
A horde of Zharians dropped down, trapping the two. Dachii and Hikari backed away, finding themselves at the edge of the arena.
"What now?" Dachii asked.
"I don't know!" Hikari responded.
Ionix, still on his platform, watched the events with a smile. "Good…"
Dachii summoned his other gauntlet, preparing to fight. "Great, it's about 20 to 2! Terrible odds!"
The Zharians grinned as they approached, their oozing black teeth on full display.
"The girl's mine…"
"Get the boy…"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Just as they were about to pounce, two boomerangs flew around them, knocking each one to the ground in seconds.
Sir Triune immediately looked back to find a third boomerang coming straight for his head, dropping him as well.
"Sorry!" Himeka said, landing next to Dachii and Himeka. "Guess I was having too much fun!"
"Thanks, Sis!" Hikari stated, relieved.
Sir Triune got up, a bit dazed. "Damn you…that ACTUALLY HURT."
Himeka did a flip and caught two of her boomerangs effortlessly. "Let's dance!"
Sir Triune tried to use his arms to punch her, but she flipped over them all and bashed him in the face with her boomerangs.
"Woah," Dachii muttered. "She's making him look like a small-time goon!"
A couple of Zharians tried to grab her, but she easily tore through them and knocked them all to the ground. Ionix growled from above.
"Don't let her win! THUNDER!"
A powerful chain of lightning rained from above, heading straight for Himeka, who somersaulted away.
"WEEE! This is fun!"
Hikari watched in awe as her sister danced around the enemy forces, almost as if she were a ballerina. "She makes it look so easy…"
"Well," Dachii blurted out. "Some sister you got there, right?"
"Yeah, she's…a natural," Hikari replied.
Dachii looked on as Sir Triune, anger on his face, snatched a spear from a fallen Zharian. "DIE, you annoying little tramp!"
He tried to stab Himeka, but she blocked the attack with a boomerang. She threw the other one off the wall, which hit Sir Triune's legs, causing him to trip.
"So this is the power of the second-ranked General…" Dachii thought. "It's no wonder she's only behind Fujii."
A group of Zharian Archers fired arrows at her, but she used her boomerangs to knock them all off course.
Up above, Venire nervously watched the battle.
"Ionix, should we step in? I fear that at this rate, they'll lose!"
He held up his hand, giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't fret, this is just the start. After all, can't have the main dish before the appetizer, right?"
She watched as Tsugumi, Kazue, and Tetsuya, along with the help of Kanai, took down more and more Zharians. "Alright, if that's what you wish."
On the other side of the arena, Sir Triune and Himeka paced around each other, sizing one another up.
"Make your move, girl!" Sir Triune yelled.
"You first!" Himeka shot back, giggling.
A Zharian handed him a greatsword, and he took it, leveling it right towards Himeka.
"Take him down, Himeka!" Hikari called out.
Sir Triune roared and charged Himeka, unleashing a flurry of powerful strikes. Despite the power behind his attacks, Himeka managed to use her boomerangs to block them.
"Keep it up!" she exclaimed.
They became faster and faster, and eventually, Sir Triune found himself unable to keep up.
"This girl!" he thought to himself. "She's not only strong enough to wield these damn things, but she's fast too!"
He went for her head, but she easily rolled under his blade and tried to sweep his legs.
"Missed!"
He jumped back, managing to avoid her. As Ionix watched from above, he prepared one last charge, holding his blade out.
"Let's end this."
Himeka nodded eagerly. "Ready!"
And in the blink of an eye, they both ran right at each other. Sir Triune leaped into the air, prepared to swing downward…
…but Himeka combined her two boomerangs, creating a massive one, which she threw at Sir Triune.
"AW, HELL—-!"
It hit him straight on, sending him crashing into the wall of the arena. Just as he tried to stand up, his blade fell right onto him and stabbed him straight through the chest.
"N…no…"
And then he fell still.
"Amazing…" Dachii thought.
Hikari stared at her sister with a mix of emotions on her face.
"Why can't I be like that? She's so cool! What about me?"
Himeka interrupted their thoughts, appearing right in front of them. "That was EPIC! Did you guys get that on camera?"
Dachii and Hikari shared a look while Himeka examined her boomerang.
"Aww, Gigarang! You're chipped!"
Dachii looked up, and he immediately started tugging on Himeka's shoulders. "Uh, General?"
Above, Ionix took one singular step, lightning sparking off his body. "Well done. I'm almost impressed, I didn't think Sir Triune would go down that easily."
He locked eyes with Venire and nodded. Immediately, the platform began to descend until it hit the ground.
"Well, I guess that only can mean one thing…"
The entire crowd cheered as he and Venire's eyes began to glow. With one wave of his arm, he fired off a powerful electrical shockwave that blasted everyone back.
"Venire, it's up to you and me now."
She nodded, sparks of green slipping off her body. "Indeed."
Dachii was the first one to get up, watching as Ionix walked closer and closer to him.
"Crowd? You want a SHOW? I'll GIVE YOU ONE! Watch carefully, you witness the defeat of Dachii Jones, and his precious SQUAD S-2!"
And without missing a beat, the entire crowd cheered loud enough to be heard across the distance.
As lightning burst free from Ionix, he gave Dachii a cunning grin.
"Now then, attack me. And don't disappoint!"
—-